Of Love and Danger
by Hoshiko Usagi
Summary: Part 2 in the Senshi-trooper saga. The Shogun kidnap Ule and the Troopers must go after him...without the Senshi. But before they do, there are some last minute matters to which each Senshi must attend
1. The preparation

(Whoa, well if this isn't a total blast from my past

(Whoa, well if this isn't a total blast from my past! I wrote this fic MANY years ago. My writing style has changed, and I haven't changed the dialogue at all. But I have formatted it to the format I use for my present fics. I dug this one up looking through my old school files. Enjoy!)

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You know the drill. I don't own the characters, Yadda Yadda Yadda, let's read. 

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Ch 1

I know you wanna leave me,

But I refuse to let you go…

-Ain't to proud to beg, the Temptations? (Boy, I'm am REALLY going back for this one.)

Minako smiled. This was going to be a wonderful day. She could feel it. She smiled at Artemis who was riding on her shoulder as she walked to school. 

"Isn't it a great day, Artemis?" she asked. Artemis nodded. 

"Yes, it IS a fine day. But it won't be for long if you're late." He told her. She nodded and walked faster. When she got to school, she smiled wider. Although she didn't go to the same school as Usagi or Rei, she had her friends here too. She set Artemis down and hurried inside the school with Artemis trailing.

"Ohmygosh, I'm so late!!!" Usagi wailed as she ran onwards towards school. Luna ran beside her. 

"Well maybe if you got up a little earlier, Usagi, you wouldn't have this problem!" Usagi cried out as she actually tripped over Luna. Then she picked herself back up and started running again. She got there and was in her seat just as the bell rang. She let out a breath. 

"Good thing I have my homework with me today.." She looked in her bag and let out a little wail. "OH NO!! Where is it? It must have fallen out when I fell!!" She looked around the room and started to cry.

"Your homework fell out?" Makoto asked in disbelief. Usagi nodded unhappily. Ami smiled. 

"Well, I'll testify that you had it. I helped you with it." Usagi nodded. 

"Thanks." Luna walked up. 

"Hello, girls." she said to Ami and Makoto. They both nodded. 

"Nice day, isn't it?" Luna asked. Makoto smiled and nodded. 

Ami looked at her. "I think she's thinking about meeting with Shin later....come to think of it, I wouldn't mind seeing Touma again..." Usagi and Luna laughed. 

"I bet." Usagi told her. I can't wait to see Mamoru again. Usagi thought. She remembered the last time he had brought her her lunch. She had been elated! But now, she had her lunch and she began eating it at top speed. Ami developed a teardrop and stared at Usagi. She'd feel better when she saw Mamoru, she thought. And Ami herself would feel ALOT better when she was with Touma, she thought.

Seiji stared at the image of Mia on his communicator. Could she be serious? She guessed what he was thinking and shook her head. 

"Would I kid about a thing like this?" She shook his head. Indeed, she wouldn't. But, oh, the warlords were going to pay the ultimate price for this. Just then, Rei came up beside the Ronins. She quickly registered the upset expression on their faces. Seiji quickly tapped the communicator off. Rei looked at all of them in turn. 

"What's wrong?" she asked. 

Ryo sighed. "The warlords have gone too far, that's what." Rei looked at him in surprise. Seiji took it up for him. 

"You know the little kid we're taking of? Ule?" Rei nodded. She recalled meeting Ule, along with Mia. Pretty girl, that Mia, but a little on the possessive side about Ryo if you asked her. Seiji continued. 

"The warlords seem determined to get at us, so they've taken him." Rei let out an audible gasp. 

"Oh my god....then.." she turned to Ryo. 

"You'll have to leave...to go after him...?" Ryo nodded. 

"Not until we get ourselves together first and make a plan. Which means we won't be gone for a couple of days." Rei nodded and hugged Ryo. 

"I wish you weren't." Ryo hugged her back and kissed her softly. 

"I know." he told her. Rei sighed. She didn't know if she could stand it when Ryo left, but it was necessary. 

Ami nearly broke down in tears and Touma hugged her. 

"No, no, don't do that. Please don't." he begged her. 

She looked up. "Why can't we go with you?" she asked. 

He shook his head. "Too dangerous. If the Warlords got you five, they'd have us at their mercy." 

Ami nodded. She understood, but it was going to really hard. Minako looked at all of her friends. She was upset about them going too, but she hadn't made a connection with any of them. Well, maybe almost a couple of times with Seiji... She really DID like him, but somehow, it was just way over her head to go out with him. He looked really upset about leaving, but she didn't know if it was over leaving or leaving _her. _

Seiji bit his pen uncertainly, not sure if this was wanted to say. He looked it over and started writing again. Shou came up and tried to look over his shoulder.

"What's that?" he asked, prompting Seiji to hurriedly turn the piece of paper over. 

"Nothing!" Seiji answered, a little too quickly. Shou laughed. 

"Then why're you hiding it?" he asked. 

Seiji glared at him. "It's private. Okay?" Shou held up his hands. 

"Okay, you win. I'll back off." and true to his word, he backed off. Seiji sighed and turned the piece of paper back over. He read it over and started to write again.

Makoto sighed. "What're we going to do without them?" she asked Ami and Usagi as they walked to school together. Ami shrugged unhappily. 

"I don't know. I couldn't even study last night for thinking of Touma so much. I don't want him to leave." Makoto turned hotly on her. 

"Oh, and I'm just BEGGING for Shin to go!!" she practically yelled at her. Usagi stepped in before things got ugly. 

"Stop it, you two!! You're beginning to sound like-like me an' Rei!!" They stopped at this. That was one thing they DEFINATELY did not want. Makoto sighed. 

"I'm sorry, Ami. I'm upset about it too." Ami nodded then looked at Usagi. 

"You're taking the news well, Usagi." Usagi nodded. 

"Why shouldn't I? MY boyfriend isn't one of the Ronins." Ami and Makoto stopped dead in their tracks. 

"Are you saying there's something wrong with having a Ronin as a boyfriend?" Ami asked. Usagi flustered. 

"Well, I ah..." Makoto dropped her bag and chased after Usagi for the remaining three blocks to their school. Ami sighed, picked up Makoto's bag and walked on.

Bertie glared at this helpless little kid they had tied up on the couch. HE was their ticket to destroying the Ronins and nobody was going to stop them. Not even the Senshi. They knew the Ronins wouldn't allow them to come. Rajura stepped up beside her. 

"Puny little guy, isn't he?" Ule tried to speak in reply, but he had a gag over his mouth. Bertie laughed. 

"Do you really think they'll come to get him?" Rajura nodded. 

"Definitely. They seem to care about him." Rubbeus appeared. 

"I've got to hand it to you this time, Rajura. It looks as if you've got this one set up just right. Now let's see you execute it without a glitch." he said coldly to Rajura. Rajura ignored him and reached over to pull off Ule's gag. The moment it was off Ule started talking nonstop about how the Ronins were going to free him and how they were going to kick their butts. Anubis, who was shining his sword, laughed. 

"They'll be lucky if they make it into the castle!" he told Ule. Ule couldn't think of anything to say to this, so he shut up. Rajura grinned. This was the perfect setup. Then, once the Ronins were out of the way, they could take Chibiusa, turn her over to the Wiseman, and still kill the Senshi. He sat in the easy chair happily. He LOVED his job. 

Touma stared out of his window. He was riding to pick up the girls from school. One of the last times he would be able to do so. He remembered when he and Ami had had that huge fight. He was pretty mad with her then. But they'd made up, and they were closer than ever now. But how would they maintain their relationship through THIS? he thought to himself. Seiji was busy scribbling something onto a piece of paper that was clipped to a clipboard. Shou tried to peek every now and then, but Seiji would always be on the lookout and he'd cover the paper in time. Shin was driving. He knew how it was tearing him apart to leave Makoto. Hell, it had even taken it's toll on Ryo. He himself, he was a nervous wreck. He needed Ami. It was that simple. He could barely go a day without her. And now he was going to leave her to go fight??? It was crazy!! But it was something he had to do. Something that just had to be done. He didn't like it and he was going to make sure that the warlords were going to pay for making him leave Ami. Shin pulled up in front of the school as it let out. They still had one more stop to make, and the girls knew this, so they came out right away. Shin kissed Makoto through his window, and as soon as everyone was inside, he sped off towards another school not far from Usagi's. When he got there, he picked up Minako. Seiji hurriedly stuffed the paper into his pocket before Minako could get a look at it. 

"What is that, Seiji?" she asked. Seiji shook his head. 

"Nothing!!" he said. Shou laughed. 

"You won't get anymore out of him, believe me. I know. I've tried." Minako shrugged and smiled. She didn't know what this paper was all about, but she had a feeling she'd find out if she had to. Shin pulled up to the temple and everyone got out. Makoto smiled. 

"We're studying American marriage customs in school." Shin looked nervous. 

"And?" he asked. Makoto shrugged. 

"It's custom to carry the girl over the threshold." Shin paled. 

"If ye think I'm carrying ye up all those steps, I'm afraid ye're mistaken." Makoto looked hurt and Shin sighed.

"C'mon." Makoto smiled as Shin picked her up and staggered up the temple steps with her. Ami smiled. 

"Touma?" Touma had already started up the steps. 

"Forget it." he told her. She huffed and started up the steps, passing him. When Touma had almost reached the top, Ami threatened to knock him back down and nearly succeeded, but Seiji was behind him, and was able to steady him. Ami grinned and walked away. Shin had put Makoto down and was hugging her from behind. They were talking softly, about what, nobody knew. Ryo looked around for Rei when Chad of all people popped up. 

"I, ah, hear you're going away???" Ryo nodded. "Uh, well, I..ah..just wanted to say good luck, wherever you're going." 

Ryo nearly laughed out loud. He could see the greedy expression in Chad's eyes. He wanted Rei to himself and he knew it. Now that his competition was going, he'd be free to hit on Rei all he wanted. Ryo nodded and extended his hand. 

"Cool, man. Shake?" Chad developed a teardrop. 

"Well, actually, I've got to go clean the main shrine. See you later!" he said and he sped off. Ryo DID laugh out loud. Seiji looked at him, sighed and whipped out that piece of paper again. He looked it over, glanced at Minako, and stuffed it back into his jacket again. Rei walked up, looking grim. Ryo took her and kissed her softly on the cheek. 

"We'll be alright. Don't worry." she nodded, but she still looked upset. She sighed. 

"I guess maybe we should help you with your plan?" Touma smiled despite himself. 

"Would be nice." he said. Rei nodded and herded everyone into her room. 


	2. The Goodbyes

Ch

Ch. 2

I never can say goodbye,

No no no no, now,

I never can say goodbye….

-I have no idea.

(Alert. R stuff coming up.)

Ami sipped from her glass of wine. She smiled at Touma, who was sitting across the table from her. Somehow, he had managed to get his entire house to himself tonight, and since they were leaving the next day, this would be the last time the two would see each other for a while. He smiled back at her and sipped his wine too. She grinned. 

"This is so nice, Touma. I'm glad we're able to see each other one last time." Touma nodded. 

"Just please don't phrase it like that." Ami looked around at the subdued mood. The lights were dim, and a romantic song was playing from Touma's CD player. He moved over to her side of the table and kissed her lightly on the neck. Ami smiled. She loved it when he did that. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself on his couch, kissing him passionately. She smiled. 

"The kiss that never ended?" Touma smiled. 

"It's about to get a whole lot better." he said. He kissed her again, and slyly began unbuttoning her blouse. When he had it all the way unbuttoned, he stopped kissing her. Ami had been so wrapped up in the kiss, she hadn't noticed what Touma was doing. Now, she looked down at her blouse, and she grinned up at Touma. He grinned back, and pushed her backwards onto the couch. He laid down on top of her, and began kissing her again. She shifted slightly and kissed Touma on his cheek. Touma looked down at himself and found that his shirt was also unbuttoned, not by his hands either. He smiled, and sat up a second, pulling off his shirt. Then he reached over and pulled off Ami's. She smiled, now wearing herbra and her skirt. He kissed her chest, and worked his way up to her neck, where he stayed. She smiled to herself and moaned slightly. He stopped. 

"Enjoying yourself yet?" he whispered. Ami nodded. He reached behind her skirt, and slowly unzipped it. Ami, meanwhile had unbuttoned his pants and was in the process of unzipping them. She slid his pants down to his ankles, leaving him the pleasure of kicking them off. Then, she slid her own skirt off. He smiled. Now both of them were in their underwear. Suddenly, Ami checked herself. 

"You really want to go through with this?" she asked. Touma grinned. 

"Only with you, babe." Ami smiled and kissed him again. He sat her up and reached behind her back, unfastening her bra. He smiled with satisfaction as it slid off her shoulders. She blushed slightly, and he grinned. 

"I think you're beautiful." she grinned and nodded. He reached down and slid her panties off, and then he slid his own underwear off. Now, he began kissing her with a real passion. He kissed her neck, her breasts, her stomach. When he went that far down, he started. 

"Wait a second." he said. He reached over to the coffee table and reached inside a paper bag. He pulled out a small plastic pack. Ami grinned. 

"You had this figured all along, didn't you?" Touma grinned and shrugged. 

"So we have a choice?" Ami said and Touma nodded. Ami grinned. 

"You gonna wear it or should I?" Touma shrugged again. 

"I'll wear it." He said. Ami nodded, and Touma opened the pack. Ami pulled the condom gently out of his hands, and put it on him slowly, almost teasingly. He laid on top of her, and reached into her center. She shifted to make it easier for him and he slipped into her as easily as a diver into water. And then, he wasn't aware of what was her body, and what was his. 

Shin held Makoto on his lap as he was kissing her neck softly. Makoto sighed. 

"I sure hope you get back here safely." Shin stopped kissing her. 

"I'm sure we will. Our only objective is to get Ule out of there as quickly as possible. We're nae looking for a fight." Makoto smiled. 

"I know, but I've noticed how a fight seems to find you, sometimes." Shin laughed. 

"Like ye're any better being a scout!" Makoto laughed too. 

"Yeah, well, that's true, but still-" Shin's finger on her lips silenced her.

"Hush. We've only this night to ourselves. Let's make the most of it." Makoto turned to look back at him. 

"If I were to take that in a literal sense..." she began, but she had no more time to think aloud as Shin set on her, kissing her everywhere he saw skin, and eventually, when he ran out of skin, he just uncovered some more.

Minako smiled. This was the first time Seiji had ever been with her alone. They were in a restaurant, and people were dancing, but it was still just the two of them. But from his atmosphere, he didn't want to make out. As a matter of fact, he looked rather grim, which was why Minako was trying to keep up a cheerful disposition. Seiji sighed. 

"So, I guess this is the last time I'll be seeing you for a while." he started. Minako had the feeling he wanted to say something more, but he couldn't for some reason. He sighed again and brought out a letter with the name "Minako" written on it in beautiful cursive. 

"This is for you. Do me a favor, though." Minako nodded. 

"Anything." That one word made Seiji's heart leap up, but he calmed himself. 

"Don't open it until we're gone." Minako looked at him strangely, but he looked her square in the eye. "Promise me." he said in a strange voice. She nodded. 

"I promise." she said softly. Seiji actually smiled. He reached out for her hand. 

"Care to dance?" he asked. Minako smiled and took his hand.

Ryo fumbled around for the words but he couldn't find any. He cared about Rei enough. So why couldn't he say anything? Why was he speechless? Fortunately, Rei herself came to his rescue. 

"Ryo, I-I really care about you." She reached across the table in the restaurant they were in and took his hand. 

"Alot." she finished. Ryo smiled. 

"Me too, Rei. I'm really sorry I have to leave like this, but if we don't get Ule back, they may kill him." Rei nodded. 

"I know." Ryo pulled his chair over to her side of the table. He took her hair back and kissed her on the side of the neck, then he kissed her on the lips. 

"I'll be thinking of you always." Rei nodded. 

"So will I." Ryo kissed her again, this time with more passion.


	3. The entrance

Ch

Ch. 3

Off they fly,

Into the wild blue yonder…

-Air Force song

Touma hugged Ami, the last time he would for a long time. Ami hugged him fiercely. 

"You better come back." she whispered. He hugged her tighter. 

"Don't worry. Not even Talpa himself can keep me away from you." he told her. Shin and Makoto were sharing one last (and long, going on 8 minutes) kiss, and Ryo and Rei were hugging each other as well. Even Mia and Whiteblaze had come to watch, but she was eying Ryo warily. As for Seiji, he kept glancing at Minako. She had an envelope in her hand, but she wouldn't open it. Finally, Makoto broke off and smiled. 

"Hey, if you need any help, just say the word." Shin shrugged. 

"I hope it will nae come to that." Makoto nodded. 

"So do I." Touma sighed. 

"We'd better get going, guys." Everyone nodded and transformed. They were all near Mt. Fuji, a place where Touma had observed that there was a weaker barrier between the Dynasty and the Negaverse there. Touma theorized that he could break through it with an extremely powerful Arrow Shock Wave. Touma geared up for the blast, it would wipe him out for at least a half hour. The more he concentrated on the blast, the stronger it was. 

"ARROW.........SHOCK.......WAVE!!!!!!!" Touma had been right. The barrier split open, leaving them all staring into an open black space. Touma sighed again. 

"This is it." he said gritting his teeth. Ryo took the lead. 

"C'mon." he said. He headed carefully in and all the guys followed him in. 

"Be careful!!" Mia called after them. Then, the hole suddenly closed in on itself. Mia looked worried.

"That wasn't supposed to happen." All heads whipped towards her. 

"What do you mean?" Ami asked, her voice growing shrill. Mia sighed.

"Touma and I went over this. THAT was not in the plan. I knew they were walking into a trap, but it might be worse than I thought." Ami was deathly pale. Makoto patted Ami on the shoulder. 

"I think that was more information than she needed to know, Mia." Mia shrugged. 

"C'mon, let's get back to the house. It's dangerous being out here by ourselves." Whiteblaze growled slightly in acknowledgement. Usagi nodded. 

"Yeah, then you can read that letter Seiji gave you." Minako nodded and everyone piled back to the jeep.

Minako tore open the letter. Usagi leaned over. 

"What's it say?" Minako just read it, flushing the whole time. 

_Dear Minako,_

_By the time you've seen this letter, I'm probably already gone on my mission. This letter is to tell you what I never could in person. I know I've never really done a lot with you. I guess I was scared. But, the truth is, I truly care about you....a lot, in fact. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you. More than anything. I don't know if you share the same feelings, but if I should die on this mission, I want you to know you are forever in my heart. _

_Love,_

_Seiji of the Halo_

Minako was stunned. She couldn't believe it. All this time, Seiji had... Oh man. She remembered his exact words the last time they played volleyball. Now she could make sense of them. 

"MinakoyouseeIreallyreallylikeyouandIwaswonderingifyouwouldbewillingtogiveusachanceImeanusasinyouandmeina relationshipplease?" She hadn't understood him then, but now she did.

"Minako, you see I really, really like you and I was wondering if you would be willing to give us a chance I mean us as in you and me in a relationship please?" THAT was what he was trying to say. She quickly went through her feelings for him. He was kind, and wise, and seriously cute. I DO like him!! She realized suddenly. She sighed. If only she'd known all this the night before...

Rajura grinned. The Ronins were in HIS domain, now. With no way out. They would die and they would die painfully slow. They would pay for all the anguish they'd caused. For all the torment, the hate. He turned to Ule. 

"It's time to set out the bait." he said, almost gleefully. Naaza grinned.

"Alright. At last. The fun part." Anubis nodded. 

"Think we can tear Sh'ten away from Prizma long enough to get him to help?" he asked the others amusedly. Rajura and Naaza grinned.

"Naw. Let him have the pleasure." Rajura said, grabbing Ule by the shirt collar. 

"Where are you taking me??" Ule asked in alarm. Rajura grinned, evilly this time. 

"You're going to...hang out." he said, amused at his own pun. Naaza hit Ule across the head and Ule whimpered. For a ten year old boy, he wasn't very big. Anubis looked at Naaza. 

"What'd you do that for?" Naaza shrugged. 

"Just wanted to get one in before we got into action." Anubis nodded, and got the hook ready. 

Shou looked behind him as the hole closed. Then he looked at Touma. He was pale. NOT a good sign. Shou sighed.

"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" he asked. Touma shook his head soundlessly. Ryo stepped up.

"C'mon, guys. We've got to go get Ule and leave!!" Seiji nodded. 

"Ryo's right. C'mon, if we have TOO much trouble, we can always transform into the white armor." Shin shrugged. 

"Okay, Ryo. Ye're the leader. So, lead." Ryo sighed. He didn't like being classified as "the leader". Something like Mercury's computer could help in a time like this. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they were guided by an image of Ule hanging by his arms from a hook. He was bound and not looking to happy. Seiji grit his teeth and followed Ryo in the direction the image had come from. For a while, nothing happened. Then, they were attacked by Dynasty goons. Seiji sliced through three of them, no sweat, he thought. Then, he saw Negaverse water beasts come at him. He sliced through them. BIG problem. He sliced one into two pieces, two new beasts reared up. He saw that the others were having the same problem, and they didn't know how to cope. Shin grit his teeth. Touma couldn't do anything major, he knew, and Ryo's flames wouldn't be of much help. Maybe he could knock them down with a blast, but he doubted it. Best to keep dodging their attacks. Then, he saw that he and Seiji were being driven away from the rest of the gang, almost as if they were being herded. Being split up was NOT an option, so Shin and Seiji tried to fight their way back to the others, but pretty soon, they couldn't even SEE them. Seiji and Shin glanced at each other. This wasn't good. Not at all.

Touma took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. He was alone with Shou. Seiji and Shin had been driven in another direction, and Ryo was god knows where. Shou's stomach rumbled and Touma laughed.

"Hungry? You just ate." Shou huffed

. "I know, but fighting always makes me hungry." Touma smiled. At least there was ONE constant around here. They decided to walk in the direction they had been headed last, but, though they didn't know it, they'd actually gotten turned around, and they weren't heading in the right direction at all. Pretty soon, they came upon a place that looked like a Tokyo subway. Shou looked at Touma.

"Do we go in?" Touma shrugged. 

"Do we have a choice?" and he headed in. When they got down there, they jumped onto the tracks and began heading more or less in the right direction. Touma stopped dead when he heard the sound. A loud sound, much like that of a car, resounding off the walls. Shou turned pale.

"Oh shit." he muttered. Then, both of them jumped up and grabbed onto the pipes above them as the train roared beneath them. Midway, though, Shou lost his hold and slipped onto the train, leaving Touma far behind in an instant. Shou had to jump aside, as a blast ripped through the roof leaving a gaping hole. Shou jumped in and gulped. The car was full of Dynasty soldiers. 

"I've REALLY got to look before I leap." he told himself before engaging them. 

Touma opened his eyes. He had closed them while the train roared underneath him. When he opened them, he saw Shou was missing. He dropped down. 

"It's gone...and if nothing happened to me....THEY MUST BE AFTER SHOU!!" he shouted and took off in the direction of the train.

Shou saw his chance. Hopping off the heads of the soldiers, he managed to clamber his way out of the hole he had come in by. Multiple blasts were sent up but Shou was well clear of the train by then. He looked around this new tunnel. Suddenly, he found himself to be in a field, facing Rajura. Rajura laughed. 

"You call yourself a hero of justice," he began. "But you will only be a warrior of evil, like me." Shou grit his teeth and transformed. Rajura laughed again. 

"That will do you no good. You see, your armor is evil, and it will turn you evil as well." Shou stared. Rajura HAD to be lying to him. Then again, they didn't know all that much about their armor, so he could be right. Just the same, Shou called out 

"I don't believe you!!" Rajura grinned, and then Shou found himself pit against images of his fellow Ronins, all of their faces had been shadowed, and all seemed to have the same intent: to kill. He tried to dodge the attacks, but when Seiji's blade came within a hair's breadth of cutting him, Shou's rage took over.

"IRON...ROCK...CRUSHER!!!!" he yelled, sending the whole field up in his blast. When Shou looked at what he had done, he turned deathly pale. Rajura reappeared and laughed. 

"I saw your rage, Shou. The evil IS within you." And Rajura left Shou there. Shou looked out over the field, at the four bodies strewn across it, fell to his knees and sobbed. 

Touma stared at his friend. Shou was just sitting there in the middle of the tunnel, sobbing wildly. Touma walked carefully up to him.

"Shou?" he asked. Shou looked back and Touma gasped. He'd never in his life seen Shou cry. He had always prided himself on being tough. Now, Touma stared at him. Shou stood and tried to dry his face. Touma took his arm. 

"C'mon, I've located Shin. Let's go." Shou nodded soundlessly, untransformed, and followed Touma. A little while later, when they came upon Shin, Shou saw that he wasn't in too good shape either, seeing as his head was bandaged and he seemed to have trouble moving his right arm. Shou could clearly read the shock on Shin's face when he saw him, just like he had registered the shock on Touma's face as well. But he didn't want to think about what had just happened. That was a mistake. A trick Rajura had been playing on his mind. That HAD to be it. There couldn't be any other explanation...could there?


	4. The first capture

Ch

Ch. 4

What comes around, well it goes around!

Nothing changes cause it's all the same,

The more you get, the more you give away.

And I'll just happen to get

Right down the line.

-Right down the Line, it's either Bad Religion or Offspring. Let me beat "Crazy Taxi" again and I'll get back to ya.

Minako sighed and picked up the volleyball. She threw it up into the air and hit it. It went into the net. She sighed again. Her mind wasn't really on her practice at the moment. It was on Seiji, and how he might be doing. She sure missed him, more than she ever thought she would. Ever since reading that letter (and she had read it over several times to make sure she hadn't imagined it) she found that her feelings for him grew with every day of his absence. Ami stopped reading her book and looked up at Minako. 

"Are you okay?" she asked. Minako shrugged.

"I'm not good, if that's what you mean." Ami nodded. "I know, I miss Touma too. Especially after the other night.." at this, she trailed off, blushed and went hurriedly back to reading her book. Makoto, who had been listening, slid over.

"Ami, you're not telling us you're not a virgin anymore, are you?" Ami said nothing, but her blush deepened. Makoto laughed. 

"Ohmigod, I can't believe it!!!" Ami turned on her, not angrily, but with a purpose. 

"Oh, and are you hymenally challenged, Makoto?" she asked. This shut Makoto up. Makoto blushed too and slid back to where she had come from. Minako smiled a little. Two big gossip subjects in one day. She'd have to question Shin and Touma when they came back..if they came back. The thought tore at her heart, for she knew if that Touma and Shin didn't come back, neither would Seiji. 

Ule screamed out in pain as electricity seared through his body. Enough to almost kill him, but not quite. Prizma grinned, then she turned to Sh'ten, who was grinning stupidly at her. He seemed to had developed somewhat of a crush on her. Oh, he wasn't that bad, but she wasn't going to get wrapped up in him like her sister had with Rajura. Just then, as if her thought had called him, Rajura himself appeared, grinning. He looked strange, full armor and no helmet. His long wavy white hair was damp and he looked hot but satisfied. 

"Shou's history." Prizma and Sh'ten both looked interested. 

"What do you mean?" Sh'ten asked. 

"He's convinced his armor is evil now." Rajura started, ignoring Sh'ten. "He won't be able to transform because he'll be too afraid of hurting his friends. And the Troopers only work at their best if all of them are in armor. " Prizma clapped. 

"I see there IS some merit when the other warlords tell me you're intelligent, Rajura." Rajura bowed. 

"Thank you, thank you." he said. Bertie appeared. 

"Three of them have hooked up and two are on their own." she told him. Rajura looked at her. 

"Which two?" he asked. 

"Seiji and Ryo." Ryo. That was interesting. Capture the leader and no Hariel to have to deal with. Rajura nodded and kissed her, thanking her for the information. He disappeared, leaving Bertie, Prizma and Sh'ten alone in the room. Bertie sensed where he was going and followed. Prizma followed Bertie, and of course, Sh'ten followed Prizma. 

Naaza looked up from his guarding post at Ule's side. 

"What's up?" he asked when Rajura entered. 

"Ryo's on his own. Wanna go bring him in?" Naaza grinned.

"What about my post?" Prizma, who had just entered, stepped up.

"I'll guard." 

"I'll help!" Sh'ten said, a little too quickly. Rajura laughed aloud. 

"I'm sure you will, Sh'ten." Naaza transformed and followed Rajura.

Ryo glanced around uneasily. He didn't like being on his own, and he had no idea if he was going in the right direction. He stopped and listened. He sensed he was being watched. When he saw Rajura and Naaza appear, his last conscious thought was that he'd have to ask Rei how he knew that. Naaza made short work of Ryo, knocking him out in an instant.

Rei's eyes flew open as a strong gust of cold wind blew into the shrine and nearly put out the sacred flame. 

"Ryo's been captured." she whispered.

Usagi popped her head into Rei's room and was disturbed to find her crying. She walked in and laid her hand on Rei's shoulder. 

"What's wrong?" she asked. Rei looked up, tearfully. 

"They've got Ryo." she said. Usagi sat Rei up and hugged her.

"It'll be alright." Don't worry." Rei turned to her. 

"But that's just it. I've been worried ever since they left. Chad's been hitting on me left and right and I just KNOW Ryo's in deep shit. I miss him like crazy. I think I...I..." Usagi patted her on the back. She thought she knew what Rei wanted to say, and she understood why she couldn't say it. It was hard to say that. But, she agreed with her. The Ronins might be in trouble, and she had a gut feeling that Rei was right

.

Seiji looked up when he saw three figures in armor coming towards him. Wait. They were in pre-armor. COLORED pre-armor. He stood up and waved frantically. One figure pointed towards him and all three ran towards him. Seiji was relieved to see that he was right. Shou smiled. 

"You alright?" Seiji nodded.

"Yeah, sure. How about you?" Shou shrugged and looked away. Seiji glanced at Touma. Touma's expression said "Drop it." and after another moment, he dropped it. Shin sighed. "Now all we have to do is find Ryo, right?" Seiji sighed.

"No easy task, bud. I've been lookin' all over for him, even called his name a few times.." Seiji had to take a moment to clear his throat as his voice started to give way. "Alright, maybe more than a few. Nearly knocked myself out callin' him." Touma sighed. 

"Dammit, what if they've got him?" This shut everybody up. Shou shifted uneasily. Shin looked around. Touma and Seiji appeared to be the only ones doing any real thinking. Seiji sighed. 

"This is NOT looking good. If they've got Ryo, and I'm beginning to believe they do, then that's a double job, and that MORE than doubles the risk." Shou looked up. 

"Think we should go back...get the girls' help?" 

"NO!!" Shin, Touma and Seiji all said at the same time. They each calmed down, and Touma spoke. 

"Shou, if we were to go back and get them, and the warlords got them again..." Touma trailed off as his voice caught. He didn't have to go any further, though. Even Shou felt a small pang at his heart, as his feelings for Usagi never REALLY went away. He didn't want her captured. Shou sighed. 

"Okay, okay. We don't go back. We leave them out of this. But what if we're all captured?" Seiji grit his teeth.

"They'll have to kill me then." And he started on. Shou hung back and sighed again. 

"They might do worse." he murmured, and he followed them.

Rubbeus grinned. He couldn't believe this was working. Here, he had the leader of the Ronins in his grasp, unconscious, and all because of one of Rajura' crackpot schemes. Rajura appeared grinning with Bertie on his arm, smiling wildly. Anubis high fived Rajura' free hand. 

"You are good." Rajura grinned wider.

"I know. I know." Bertie kissed him.

"I always knew you could!!" Rajura glanced over at her. 

"Even on one of your all day shopping sprees?" Bertie grinned now. 

"Why do you think I always took you?" Prizma appeared, also smiling. Of course, Sh'ten was right behind her. Naaza laughed. 

"Looks like you've got a second half." Prizma smiled ruefully at Sh'ten behind her.

"I noticed. Look, Rajura. Wiseman wants to see you." Rajura stopped grinning and paled. 

"Right now?" he asked. Rubbeus shrugged. 

"Not good to keep him waiting." Bertie smiled up at him.

"Go ahead. It's probably good." Rajura wasn't reassured much. He gulped and disappeared, reappearing before Wiseman. 

Ryo woke up to see Ule on his right, unconscious, and Anubis grinning in his face. Ryo immediately tried to free himself, but his hands and feet were bound good. He then tried to knock Anubis out of his face by swinging his feet at him, but that tactic had been tried by Makoto before on Rajura. Anubis was ready. He ducked and went on grinning. 

"Not so tough, are you? Shrimp." Ryo grit his teeth. 

"I've whipped you before." Anubis laughed. 

"Now whatcha gonna do, sick your little priestess on me?" Ryo's anger flared. 

"LEAVE REI OUT OF THIS!!" Naaza stepped up.

"Oh, yeah. You love her, right?" Ryo was shocked to hear his own feelings voiced so clearly by Naaza, of all people. Rajura, maybe. But NAAZA? Naaza, unperturbed, went on. 

"I swear, I'll never fall for a girl like that as long as I'm a warlord." Rajura appeared, much to the surprise of everyone. 

"Don't be so sure. I was sayin' that like, what, about a month ago?" Bertie looked up. 

"What did the Wiseman want?" Rajura glanced at Ryo hatefully. 

"Not in present company." he said. Ryo sneered. 

"Why? If you're so sure I won't escape, why won't you say it here?" Rajura bent close to Ryo, his voice full of hatred. 

"Because, RONIN, I've had too many close calls with you to know WHAT you're gonna do. I'd rather be safe than sorry." Ryo spit at him and Rajura flinched, before dealing Ryo a good one upside the head. Ryo nearly yelled out in pain. Ami had told how Rajura had hit Makoto when she injured him, and he'd seen Rajura kick Usagi. This guy had STRENGTH. Ryo NEARLY yelled out, but he was determined not to give the others the satisfaction. 

Avery and Katzie appeared, smirking. No one had seen much of them lately. Bertie claimed they were shopping. Naaza hadn't been so sure. He thought he'd seen them looking at more guys than lipstick colors. But he didn't say anything. Katzie grinned. 

"Gotta hand it to you, Rajura." Rajura grinned too. 

"I've been getting alot of that lately. Even the Wiseman told me to keep it up." Katzie looked surprised. 

"Really?" Ryo decided to cut in. 

"Wiseman'll be singin' a different tune one I'm through." All four of the warlords, even Sh'ten, let out a big laugh. 

"Once we take your armor," Naaza gloated, glaring at Ryo, "We'll either kill you or make you a slave." Ryo paled. He was afraid to ask, but he said 

"What about The Senshi?" Rajura grinned and drew his finger across his neck..slowly. That didn't make Ryo feel any better. Not at all.


	5. How things tend to go from Bad to worse ...

Ch

Ch. 5

What's new pussycat, 

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa,

What's new pussycat?

-What's new pussycat, Your guess is as good as mine.

Mia sighed as she sipped her tea. It had sure been quiet in the house. She missed the Ronins, Seiji and Touma and Shin and Shou and Ryo...well, she didn't want to think about how much she missed Ryo. Whiteblaze sensed her restlessness and sat up. He put his head in her lap and she smiled slightly. 

"Feel like going into the city, boy?" Whiteblaze fairly nodded. Mia smiled. 

"C'mon, we can go pick up the girls."

Usagi was stunned to see Mia sitting in a jeep outside of their school with Whiteblaze sitting BESIDE? Ami walked up to the jeep. Mia smiled at them.

"Where're you headed?" Ami shrugged. 

"To the temple." Mia motioned to the jeep and the girls got in. Makoto glanced out her window. 

"Why's Whiteblaze outside?" she asked. Mia shrugged. 

"He can't really fit inside the jeep and besides, he has no trouble running and keeping up with me. Ule usually rides-" at this she stopped. She hadn't meant to remind the girls of the guys. Ami's face twisted and Makoto patted her on the back. 

"It'll be okay, Ami." she said. Ami shook her head and bit her lip to keep from crying. Ever since meeting Touma, she'd never been without him for more than a day.Except for that big fight, but that didn't count. It had been about four days now. Weren't the Ronins ever going to come home? Wasn't Touma ever going to come back? She missed him like crazy. She thought as hard as she could. Touma, you better not be dead. You better hang in there. You told me Talpa himself couldn't keep you away from me. You have to come back. I miss you.

Touma woke with a start. Had he heard Ami's voice? He thought he had. The only thing he could recall hearing now was "I miss you." He sighed.

"I miss you too, Ami." he whispered. He sighed and looked around. Light, or what could pass for light around here, was coming up. He reached over and woke up the guys, resolving to never again sleep in his pre-armor. Shou, who was not usually a morning person and who generally stayed asleep until noon if he could, got up immediately. It was Shin and Seiji that had trouble awakening. Shin kept on murmuring that the school didn't get out until 3 and Seiji couldn't seem to focus long enough to remember what was going on. Touma sighed and slapped both of them across the face, bringing both back to reality immediately. Shin felt his face. 

"I would appreciate it if ye would nae slap me with yer armor on." Touma grinned. 

"Got you up, didn't it?" Seiji shook his hair out of his face, only to have it fall back in place again. 

"Barely." Shin stretched.

"Rough ground, though, quite honestly, I think I could've slept on a bed of hot coals and cold seaweed." Seiji, Touma and Shou all nodded. Shou felt better than he had the day before. They hadn't slept in three days. Maybe it would be another three before they did again, but now, they HAD to find Ryo.

Ryo yelled out in pain as Rajura hit him across the back yet again with a whip. They had taken his pre-armor and now he was in his regular clothes. He was sweating and his back was bleeding, but he would not relent. He would NOT join the Dynasty. Rajura grinned and hit Ryo again, causing him to yell out even louder. Bertie's stomach was doing flipflops. She stepped up to Rajura softly. Even though she loved Rajura, she still knew a cute guy when she saw one, and it hurt her to see Ryo being beaten so brutally. 

"Rajura, I think that's enough for now." Rajura looked at her surprised. 

"Don't you want him to pay?" he asked, puzzled. She nodded. 

"But you said you were going to make it painfully slow. If you keep this up with your strength, you'll eventually kill him. And that's not really the type of death you want, is it?"Rajura thought on this a second, gave Ryo one final hard lash, then he threw the whip to the other side of the room. He kicked Ryo for good measure then stormed out. Ryo looked up weak yet puzzled at Bertie. 

"Why?" was all he could choke out. Bertie shrugged and turned away.

"SHE STOPPED YOU??" Naaza and Anubis both asked at the same time. Rajura nodded. 

"I don't understand it. One minute, I can feel her rooting me on. The next, she takes his side." Anubis shook his head. 

"Women.." he muttered. Rajura nodded. 

"Tell me about it."

Rei had a feeling that she was being watched. But by whom, she didn't know. It wasn't an evil presence, but she couldn't see them either. She heard a soft jingle, like that of bells...or rings. She sighed and went back to her sweeping. If she had looked a little harder up in the treetops, however, she would have seen she was right. 

Shin stared in horror at the image. It showed Ryo, brutally beaten and scared. Really, he was starting to look like Yamcha without the ponytail. Shou started to shake all over. He pulled Seiji aside. 

"Look," he started.

"If I do anything stupid, like endanger any of you, I want you to stop me in anyway possible." Seiji stared at him. What was he talking about? 

"Why, Shou? What's wrong?" 

"Just do it, okay? I can't promise I'll be much help to you once we get in there." Seiji had a bad feeling, but he consented, reluctantly. An image of Rajura, Anubis, Naaza and Sh'ten appeared. 

"You ready to die?" Naaza asked, amusedly. Shin grit his teeth. 

"Ye're the ones who're going to fall." Anubis grinned, and the image switched to one of Makoto lying beaten and bloodied in a field. This sent Shin into a fury. 

"YE BLOODY SON OF A BITCH!!! IF YE HAVE TOUCHED HER, I SWEAR.." Anubis laughed. 

"Yeah, I bet." He said, reappearing with the other warlords. Sh'ten stepped up. 

"If you REALLY want your friends back," A warphole appeared before them. 

"Step through." Shin nearly went in without hesitation, but Seiji and Touma held him back. Shou looked at Rajura, and Rajura grinned under his armor. The look on Shou's face was one of extreme doubt. And fear. And Rajura was loving every part of it. Touma looked at the warphole. 

"Do we go through?" Shin grit his teeth. 

"If they've done anything to Makoto, I'll kill them all with me bare.." 

"Hold it, Rambo." Seiji cut in. "We don't know if they actually HAVE Makoto or not. They probably don't." Shin glared at him. 

"What if they have Minako? What then?" Seiji stiffened, but he said nothing. Touma sighed. 

"We have no other choice. We're probably walking into a net or something, but at least we'll be a few steps closer to getting Ryo and Ule out of there." Shin and Seiji nodded. Shou looked doubtful, but as they stepped through the warphole, Shou looked at Seiji and he mouthed something. Seiji understood, but it worried him. Shou had said 

"Remember your promise."


	6. The introduction

Ch

Ch. 6

It doesn't matter now what happens,

I will never give up the fight,

There's no way I will run away from

All of my frights,

As long as a voice in me says "go"

I will always keep on running.

There's no way to stop me 

From going the very top.

It doesn't matter who is wrong or who is right..

-It doesn't matter, Sonic's theme

The Ancient One looked at these five girls who had befriended the Ronins. The one with black hair seemed to have extraordinary sensory powers. He glanced at his staff. The rings were jingling like crazy. He was surprised that the girls didn't hear it. But these girls were needed to get Ule out of the Dynasty, whether the Ronins liked it or not. He contemplated how to tell them...

Rei couldn't shake the feeling that Ryo needed her now. But she had no way to get to him. She still sensed that she was being watched, but she shook it off when the girls arrived. She told them of her feelings, and all the girls seemed to agree. Even Mia, who had stuck around, seemed to feel that things were off. Whiteblaze snuggled up beside Minako, while Artemis, a little perturbed by the presence of the white tiger, moved to Ami. Minako stroked his head gently. 

"You know Seiji's in trouble too, don't you boy?"

"More like Ryo." Mia put in. "They have a very special bond." Rei was about to reply curtly that SHE had a special bond with Ryo too when a soft voice chimed in 

"Indeed they do." The voice came from above. Everyone's heads whipped upwards when a man with long white hair looking almost exactly like Sh'ten's jumped down from the treetops. Not even Mia, who had seen him before, could tell if he was an old man or a young one, for the hat he wore was so low it covered the better half of his face. But he looked very strange, dressed in the attire of a Buddhist monk But the staff he carried was the most puzzling of all, and now Rei recognized the sound it made, or rather, the large metal rings on it made. They jingled softly, moving on their own. 

"Who are YOU??" Makoto, Ami and Minako all asked at the same time. 

"I am known as the Ancient One." he began. "Friend of the Ronins and also of you, Senshi." Makoto got defensive right away. 

"How did you know we were Senshi?" she asked. He smiled.

"I know more than you can imagine. Like the fact that you are right. The Ronins DO need your help." Rei stepped forward.

"How are they doing?" she asked. His smile faded. 

"I will show you."

Touma felt at the scar that went down his face. It was deep, and just starting to harden. It went from his forehead, down past his left eye, and down onto his cheek. He had gotten it when he was ambushed on the other side of the warphole. The only other one of the Ronins who escaped was Shou, but not without a deep gash on his arm. Shin and Seiji had been captured.Shou thought the scar gave Touma a rough, rugged look. Shou had tried to fight, but when he tried to transform, nothing happened. He remembered it glumly. He had tried twice. When nothing happened, Rajura started to laugh his fool head off. Touma stared at him. 

"Shou, transform!!" Shou's face showed horror and fear, and a little knowing. 

"I-I can't!!" he said frantically, just before he was hit across the room by Sh'ten. Touma glared at Rajura and lunged at him. Rajura had dodged and slashed at Touma. Anubis took on Seiji, leaving Naaza with Shin. The Ronins appeared to be winning when Anubis turned from Seiji and struck Shin square in the head with the butt of his sword. Not even armor can withstand that. Shin crumpled. Seiji had rushed to his aid when Naaza and Anubis ganged up on him too, knocking him out. Touma had lost his head and lunged wildly at Anubis, but Anubis hit him with a blast so hard, his helmet was blown off, leaving Rajura the opportunity to slash him. Shou feared that he was the cause of their defeat. Touma walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault." he said, sensing what Shou was thinking. Shou shook his head. 

"Yeah, it is. If I coulda transformed, you wouldn't look like a carbon copy of Anubis." Touma laughed a little at this, but secretly he wondered how Ami would react when she saw his battle scar. 

"OH MY GOD!!!" Ami fairly shouted and ran towards Touma.

"Wait." The Ancient One's voice rang out clearly and Ami stopped dead in her tracks. "He cannot see you nor hear you. Just as he cannot see nor hear me, or any of us. I said I would show you. Ami looked tearfully at Touma.

"Can I touch?" she asked. The Ancient One fairly smiled. 

"Try it and see." Ami reached towards Touma's face, but her hand went _through it. She pulled back, part horrified, part frightened, and part mystified. Touma was talking again._

"We're inside the castle I know that much. Now, we have to find Ule...and the guys." Makoto stared. What had happened to Shin? She was suddenly very afraid. 

"I want to see Shin." she blurted out. The Ancient One nodded, and they were no longer looking at Touma and Shou, but at Shin, Seiji and Ryo. Rei broke down in tears right there and then at seeing Ryo's condition. Ryo's head was bent, his back was all scars, his face was also scarred. It was obvious he had been through some serious torture. Next to him were Shin and Seiji, newly captured, but still unconscious. On the other side of Ryo was 

"ULE!!" Mia cried out and ran to him despite herself. She was a little shocked to see that she had passed right through him, even though she had heard that the Ancient One had said. She looked up fearfully as The warlords entered the room, but they passed through her, not even aware of her. They went over and punched Shin and Seiji in the ribs, causing them both to awaken. If Makoto had been solid at that moment, Anubis would have ended up with a second scar, at least. Shin awakened, and like Ryo, tried immediately to free himself, but Rajura hit him across the face. Ryo looked up weakly, and looked directly at Rei, or so she thought. The way he looked as if he knew someone were there made her want to run to him, kiss him, cry out and kick some warlord ass all at the same time. She turned to the Ancient. 

"He can't see-" The Ancient One held up his hand. 

"Ryo is very special. It appears he has picked up some of your habits. It is not known if he can see us or not." If Ryo DID see them, he gave no sign at that time. He glared up at Rajura. Rajura laughed. 

"And look who's finally awake." he said, kicking Ryo upside the head. Shin cringed then he spoke up. 

"Ye bastards have no honor." Naaza turned savagely on him. 

"WHAT??" he roared. Shin looked him full in the eye. 

"If ye had any honor, ye'd let Ule go. It's us ye want, not him." Naaza looked at this shrimp of a man, barely past puberty, and yet, he knew he was right. That was Rajura' decision, however. Naaza looked expectantly at Rajura, as did all the other warlords. Rajura shook his head. 

"We keep the kid until we have all the Ronins." Shin went almost completely berserk.

"COWARD!!! IF YE WERE HALF THE WARRIORS YE CLAIM TO BE YE WOULD NEVER KEEP A DEFENSELESS CHILD-" Naaza hit Shin so hard he went out immediately. Makoto stared. That couldn't have happened. It couldn't...

Makoto stared at the Ancient One once they were back at the temple. So did all the other girls. Rei was still sobbing, and Ami was rubbing her back, though she was pretty shaken up herself.

"Why did you show us? What can we do?" The Ancient one turned to look at her. 

"You can help them."

"How?" Minako asked. It was the first time she had spoken since the Ancient One had appeared. The Ancient One turned to look at her. 

"Do not worry. I will get you where you need to be. Just transform." The girls nodded and all fished out their transformation stick/locket.

Talpa looked up suddenly. He was not happy. He sensed the Ancient One was about to interfere in his plans..again. And that was NOT something he could have. Not when he was so close to victory. The Ancient One would have to be exterminated.


	7. The assistance

Ch

Ch. 7

Whatever pinch you find yourself in,

Never give up without a fight.

That is the lovely maiden's policy…

-Otome no policy, Sailormoon

Luna looked at the Senshi worriedly. 

"You sure we shouldn't go with you?" she asked. Sailormoon smiled. 

"Relax, Luna. Whiteblaze is going along." Luna didn't relax. Whiteblaze nudged Sailormoon, as if to say "Shouldn't we be going?" 

"In a minute, Blaze." Mia said. Sailormars clenched and unclenched her hands. 

"Ryo, Ryo..." she kept muttering. She had made sure she had brought plenty of scrolls with her. She was NOT going to let them hurt Ryo any longer. Sailorjupiter, on the other hand, was going to make sure that Anubis and Naaza paid dearly. Mercury was concerned with Touma, and Venus with Seiji. the Ancient One sensed their anxiousness, but still, he said nothing. He wanted to wait until the images had faded somewhat. If they went barging in too soon, it might hurt the Ronins.

Sh'ten gazed at Prizma. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh, Sh'ten?" 

"Mmmmm?" 

"You mind looking the other way?" 

"You're not the other way." Oh god, she thought. She thought of something, and flashed him a killer smile. 

"Please?" Sh'ten totally melted.

"Okay." He looked the other way, and Prizma heaved a huge sigh of relief. Bertie sat, watching all this. She stood, and disappeared, reappearing in front of the Ronins. She looked at Seiji. 

"I'm sorry all this had to happen." Seiji looked puzzled. 

"Why?" He asked bitterly. She sighed. 

"Believe me, I did not want this. It was Rajura' idea."

"Aren't you his girl?"

"Yes, but sometimes Rajura can lack compassion. Especially when you make him mad." 

"And you don't?"

"I feel sorry for you, don't I?" 

"We don't need your sympathy." 

"I'm the only one who's willing to give you any. Now, if you want to get out of here, I suggest you shut up and listen." At this, Seiji perked up.

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously. 

"Just what I said." she told him.Then, she turned and threw up. Seiji stared at her. 

"Are you alright?" he asked. 

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She started talking in hurried whispers, and she gave Seiji the chance he needed to escape. 

Touma stared. Part of him was extremely angry. The other part was grateful. He let out a little gasp as he had the living daylights squeezed out of him by Sailormercury. 

"What the hell are you doing here???" He asked her angrily after he had hugged her back. Before she could explain, the Ancient One appeared. 

"I brought them here." Touma hastily shut his mouth. He closed his eyes as Mercury examined the scar. 

"Oh my god, what did they do to you?"She whispered. Touma opened his eyes and smiled. 

"Well, I'm still alive. More'n I can say for sure about the others.." Venus winced and looked away. Mercury held his arm. 

"They're alive," she said softly. 

"No thanks to me." Shou put in, causing all heads to turn to him. Even Whiteblaze looked puzzled at him. 

"What do you mean, Shou?" Sailormoon asked. Shou went completely berserk. 

"I couldn't transform!! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't!! I..I.." 

"Calm down, Shou." Mars said gently. It was only then that Shou realized that he had been screaming. He took a deep breath. 

"Okay, I'm better now." He felt so GUILTY. Like the blood of his companions was on his hands. Like every blow they took was his fault. Part of him knew that to be complete nonsense. But the other part of him wasn't so sure. Touma hugged Mercury again. 

"We'll get them out of there..alive. I swear." Mercury nodded. Sailormars took out a scroll and began playing with it, twirling it between her fingers. The Ancient One took the lead and together they headed ever deeper into the depths of the castle. 

Rajura looked royally pissed. That was not a good sign, neither for the Ronins nor for the other warlords.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE??" He yelled out. No one dared answer him. No one except Bertie.

"He probably came to get the Ronins out." Rajura glared at her.

"What are you going to do about that?" came a perfectly calm voice, one Rajura would have liked to shut up permanently a long time ago. 

"I'll do what I please, Rubbeus." Rubbeus laughed. 

"You plan is beginning to fall apart, Rajura." Rajura growled. Bertie stepped up to him. 

"You know, he's right. Maybe we ought to adopt a new plan-" Rajura shoved her roughly away. 

"NO! Not when I'm so close." He seemed to think about it then said 

"With the Ancient here, we don't have much time. I want those bitches armor stripped and I want them killed. And I want them killed NOW!!" Bertie was shocked. 

"What about the boy? Ule?" The look in Rajura' eye was pure hatred. 

"Kill him too." Everyone stared at him. 

"But our code of honor-" Anubis began. Rajura turned on him. 

"The hell with any code. I want them killed now!" Bertie rushed up to him, but he pushed her away from him again and this time raised his hand as if to hit her. Bertie screamed, and Rajura froze. Everybody did. Rajura slowly lowered his hand and sat down, burying his face in his hands. "Those Ronins are going to be the death of me." He murmured. 

"They're driving me nuts. No, don't kill them. Or the kid. Not just yet. We can still use them as leverage." Bertie breathed a sigh of relief. But she was still shaken by the fact that Rajura would even consider hitting her. Which meant stepping up her plan with Seiji a little. They'd have some help now that the Ancient One was here, which was good. Nobody hit Bertie-or even tried- and didn't pay a price. 

Venus couldn't stop thinking about Seiji. Where was he? What was being done to him? Was he still alive? These were the questions she asked herself. Then an unexpected question popped into her mind. Does he really love me? She stopped and thought about that question, then her mind(and heart) did a little flip. Do I really love him? 

"Venus, come on." Jupiter hissed and Venus pressed on, more slowly than the rest. Whiteblaze gave her a little nudge and she smiled. 

"Yes, I'm coming Whiteblaze." Mercury looked at her. 

"What is with you?" Venus shrugged. 

"Just thinking." Mercury nodded and squeezed Touma's hand a little tighter for comfort. Venus wished she had a strong hand to hold on to. 

"Seiji." She whispered. "I love you."

Seiji rubbed his wrists. They had been rubbed raw by the cords. He looked as Bertie worked frantically to free Shin, Ryo and Ule. 

"What's this all about?" Shin asked. 

"I'm getting you guys out of here. Your friends are nearby." Shin nodded.

"When I see Makoto again-" 

"She's here too, as are all the Senshi. No, don't say a word. Just shut up and follow me." She held Ule in her arms, and motioning for Seiji to support Ryo, she moved them out of the room without Prizma or Sh'ten noticing a thing. She led them to a chamber. 

"I can't take you any farther than this. Here, take him. Poor guy. Go straight through this chamber, you'll find your friends. Now..hurry!!" Bertie gave them a push and they started running to the other side of the chamber. 

"Good Luck." she whispered. She held her stomach and hurried back to whence she came.


	8. The admission

Ch

Ch. 8 

Gray skies are gonna clear up,

Put on a happy face,

Brush off the clouds and cheer up,

Put on a happy face…

-Ya'll know this song!!

"SEIJI!!!" Venus yelled as he came into view. Seiji leaned down and allowed her to hug him, though he was still carrying Ule. 

"I missed you so much." She whispered.

"Uh huh." Seiji said. Shin turned smiling bitterly at Jupiter.

"I nae know whether to be happy or angry ye're here." Jupiter smiled. 

"We'll settle that one later. For now, let's get out of here." Mars took over supporting Ryo, kissing the scars on his face as they went. Presently, Ryo woke up. 

"Huh..wha-....Rei??" Mars smiled.

"Yes, Ryo. It's me, and I won't let them hurt you anymore." He smiled. 

"You were here..earlier.." Mars stopped dead in her tracks.

"Huh? How'd you know?" 

"I dunno..I just knew you were there, watching..." The Ancient One nodded. 

"It appears I was right. Come. We MUST press on if we are to gain headway before we are encountered and attacked." While they walked, the couples continued to whisper to one another, except Sailormoon and Shou who asked the Ancient all sorts of questions. At one point, Seiji stopped and stared at Venus. 

"You're kidding..," Sailorvenus smiled. 

"No, I'm not." She said just before kissing him.

Bertie found herself swept up into one of the most passionate kisses she'd ever had with Rajura. She pulled away, felling quite dizzy.He sat down on the couch and sighed. 

"I'm sorry, hon." Bertie looked at him. Rajura almost never apologized. He must feel REALLY bad.

"I understand. You were agitated."

"No reason to hit you." 

"That's true." 

"How 'bout I make it up to you....tonight?" Bertie grinned.

"I think I might really like that." He grinned and kissed her again. Just then, Prizma and Sh'ten barged in. Here it comes...Bertie thought. 

"They're gone!!"

"WHAT!!!!" Rajura roared, jumping up and if I'm not mistaken, Anubis and Naaza shouted it too. 

"How?" Bertie asked, as if she didn't know.Prizma waved her hands in confusion. 

"I don't know...we were guarding the door the whole time, and they can't teleport.." 

"No.." Rajura started. They can't but-" 

"The Ancient can, and he can take people with him." Sh'ten finished the thought for him. Rajura' expression grew the coldest Bertie had ever seen. 

"That son of a...Bertie! Anubis! Naaza! Sh'ten! Everyone! We're going to catch them and we're going to make them pay." Bertie couldn't stand fighting them right after she'd helped them, and suddenly, and not by her own will, she threw up right there and then. Rajura looked at her with concern.

"On second thought, I'll stay here with Bertie. Anubis, you're in charge of the mission." Anubis smiled. 

"Whatever you say boss." He nodded to everyone else and disappeared, with everyone except Bertie and Rajura not too far behind. 

"RYO, WATCH OUT!!!" Mars yelled as the entire group was split up by a dozen blasts at once. 

"SNAKE BITE STRIKE!!!" 

"QUAKE WITH FEAR!!!" 

"TAKE A POWDER!!!" All rang out at the same time, splitting up the small weak group. All the Ronins transformed except Shou again. Not that he didn't try. Avery laughed. 

"Look at the pathetic little fool. Time to whip you into shape, Pudge-Boy!!" With that, Avery snapped the whip tight around Shou's waist and started to pull.

"MOON TIARA ACTION!!" Put an end to that. Shou beamed at Sailormoon. 

"Nice frisbee throwing." 

"Hey, thanks Shou!" Shou tried one more time to transform.

"ARMOR OF HARDROCK......DOWCHICHI!!!" This time it worked, but Shou felt odd being back in his armor, like trying on a suit that had grown a little to small for him. It felt tight, choking, almost suffocating. He shook off the feeling and concentrated on the task at hand.

"SUPER......WAVE...SMASH-OOF!!" Shin had the wind knocked out of him. When he tried to execute the attack, Sh'ten had rammed full speed into his gut. Now, Shin kneeled wheezing on the ground. Jupiter turned angrily on Sh'ten.

"Supreme Thunder!!" She yelled, encasing Sh'ten in a column of lightning. Sh'ten fell to the ground-or would have if Prizma had not caught him. She took off his helmet and looked into his face. Then she glared hatefully at Sailorjupiter. 

"This means war..._Makoto." Jupiter glared back at her while kneeling beside the fallen Shin. _

"I'm always ready for you, Negasleeze." Ryo couldn't fight so Mars protected him. She got out about six scrolls. 

"Akuryo Taisan!!" She threw them at the sisters and Warlords, locking them all in place.

"Now, Mercury!!" she yelled. Mercury nodded. 

"Shine Aqua Illusion!!!" Seiji grinned despite himself. 

"I don't think they'll be going anywhere for a while." Venus nodded, also grinning. The Ancient appeared.

"Which gives us time to think." Sailormoon turned on him. 

"Hey, where were you?" He smiled. 

"It is not yet my time to fight." Sailormoon developed a teardrop, clearly confused.

"No good to ask him anything else." Ryo said as if he had guessed her thought. 

"You won't get anything else out of him." Mars helped Ryo struggle to his feet. 

"Hey, can we go now?" she asked. Seiji turned back to the enemy, still frozen in place. 

"What about them?" Mercury shrugged.

"Give them a chance to thaw." The Ancient nodded and teleported them all out of there.


	9. The uncertainty

Ch

Ch. 9

Isn't this world a crazy place?

Just when I thought a chance had passed,

You go and save the best for last. 

-Best for last…I can't remember!! Aaaahhhh!!

Ryo woke up to see Rei bent lovingly over him, tending to his wounds. 

"Feeling better?" she asked softly. He smiled and nodded. She bent down and kissed him. 

"Good." He looked around and saw that he was back in his room, in his bed. Whiteblaze was sleeping contentedly by his side. He tried to sit up and found he couldn't. 

"I'm not sure you'll have the strength to get up soon, anyway." She told him. "You're really weak." he smiled again.

"Will you kiss me and make it better?" he asked no louder than a whisper. She smiled. 

Sure." and she did. 

"Minako...I don't understand....I thought you.." Minako looked up. 

"Thought I what, Seiji? I've always cared for you very much. I just didn't know how to tell you before now, or if you shared the same feelings." He grasped her shoulders and looked into her eyes. 

"Of course I do. Who wouldn't?" he said, pulling her into a deep french kiss. Makoto, Shin, Ami, Touma, Usagi and Shou walked up. 

"What's with the two newest lovebirds on the block?" Minako pulled away and blushed, but Seiji kept a firm grip on her waist. 

"I dunno." he said. 

"What you guys been up to." 

Ami and Makoto both spit out "Nothing!" at the same time. Minako grinned. 

"That's a lie. Hey, Touma? Why don't you tell Shin, Seiji and Shou here what you an' Ami did on your last night together." Now it was Touma's turn to blush. 

"Well, I uh....we um....that is to say...uh...." Shin burst out laughing. 

"Ye donae mean to tell me that neither of you are virgins!!" Touma turned to him.

"And did you and Makoto use a condom?" 

The words "Of course we did!" were out of Shin's mouth before he could stop himself. Everyone started cracking up. "Case in point." Touma told him, grinning. 

_4/2_

_Dear Diary,_

_So much has happened since I last wrote. We had captured the Ronins and Senshi. They were in our grasp and I let them go. If Rajura ever found out..._

_He almost made me go after them, but I threw up and he let me stay. Thing is, I didn't want to throw up. _

The one thing I don't dare tell Rajura is that there is a reason why I threw up. Here are my symptoms: I'm constantly nauseous, and my appetite has picked up. I'm also over a month late. If Rajura knew what I do....

_ _

"What's that you're writing, hon?" 

"Oh! Nothing!!" 

"I don't see why you create such a fuss over your diary. If you'd just let me read it and get it over with..." 

"No way, Rajura. I have my most private thoughts recorded in here." Rajura' eye fell on something, and his eye grew wide. 

"You're over a month late?" Bertie hurriedly slammed the book shut and nodded. 

"Anything else?" 

"Well, I've been throwing up more than you know..and I've been eating alot more..." Rajura sighed and sat on his bed. 

"Dammit Bertie, why didn't you tell me?" 

"I wasn't sure." She climbed under the covers and started to cry. Rajura climbed in too and held her.

"Tomorrow, we get a home pregnancy test. Okay?" Bertie nodded. She looked up and Rajura kissed her. She dropped her diary in it's place, turned out the light and went to sleep against Rajura' chest. 

"Goodnight, hon." he whispered, before going to sleep himself. 

Shou looked at the stars. He liked to do this often. It gave him time to think, and tonight, there was much to think about. Mostly about his armor. Was it really evil? Could he control it? What would happen if his comrade's lives were in his hands? Would he blow it? Would he...could he actually kill them?

Afternote: Well, people, hope you enjoyed the show. I'll see what I can do about Bertie and Shou and Sh'ten later. You'll just have to wait. For Now, I'm Outie! =^)

(That's it, that's one of my earliest fics. It's like four years old. What do you think? Let me know. Ja ne, minna!!) 


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